Alumna Profile: Kiara Ana Perico, HS Class of 2007

Kiara Ana Perico, HS Class of 2007: A Musician for Today’s World 

Kiara Ana Perico, HS ‘07, grew up at Hartsbrook School where her mother, Elyce Perico, held various positions on the school faculty as did her father the late German Perico. In 2017 she married Kiel Feher, and they now live in California. 

Kiara Ana has pursued a musical career since graduating from Hartsbrook. She attended Boston University for music, concentrating on both viola performance and theater performance media, graduating in 2011. Her musical career has been a combination of classical and pop music. While still in college, she toured around the world with the Trans Siberian Orchestra, which provided her with a window into the alternative string world. 

Musical opportunities presented themselves to Kiara Ana quickly after she graduated. From 2014-17 she played in a world tour with Yoshiki (drummer with the Extrapan group in the 1990’s) along with classical piano and a total of seven stringed instrumentalists. That year she also taught violin at the Carlthorp School in Santa Monica, demonstrating another talent acquired along with her musical training and family example. 

Her career took a major leap in 2015 when she was asked to be the violinist in Ariana Grande’s first big tour, “The Honey Moon Tour.” Kiara Ana was one of two viola plays for Adele Live 2016. In 2017 she played with Gwen Stefane for items promotion (ranging from the Macy’s Day Parade to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, culminating in the NBC Christmas Special, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.” Through 2017-19 she was on tour with Panic at the Disco” supporting their release “Pray for the Wicked” as one of three violins in what the fans have dubbed “The Wicked Strings.” Since then, she has also expanded her repertoire to include her own string quartet group, the “Orchid Quartet,” which now performs internationally. 

Impact of a Hartsbrook Education

Kiara Ana speaks of Hartsbrook’s profound influence on who she has become. She notes that at Hartsbrook, she developed a sense of self awareness, direction and personal growth. She appreciates the connections and relationships developed at Hartsbrook that she carries into the broader world. In the Hartsbrook environment, she developed her own truth, direction and self-confidence. 

Her love of music was nurtured at Hartsbrook as well as in her family. The socialization that she gained at Hartsbrook, she credits with helping to easily transition into networking in the music performance world. Ultimately, she says that her Hartsbrook education helped her develop fully, integrating mind, body and spirit. 

As an alumna of Hartsbrook, Kiana Ana has returned to give alumni/ae focused talks at Grandparents Day on two occasions (2018 and 2019) to speak about the value of a Waldorf/Hartsbrook education. She is now embarking on a project to honor her late father (along with her mother, Elyce, and Hartsbrook faculty and staff) by planning and building a natural play structure in the play yard with funds donated in german’s honor for the project.